The Action and Adventures of a Clintonian Engineer

Dead? Not yet.

2008-02-14T21:49:00.000-08:00

Currently listening to: Coheed and Cambria - Mother May I

Wow, I haven't posted in a while. This is becoming a trend. Don't expect much out of me until after Tuesday the 19th (when we ship the robot).

However, in the meantime, I've upgraded my car a tad by putting a 3" Borla exhaust system on and reflashed my ECU (check facebook for graphs) to 315hp. I'm currently dying as I try to finish the robot.

Also, I'm so freakin awesome. But you already knew that.

Nooooo!

2008-01-24T06:54:00.000-08:00

Currently listening to: State Radio - The Diner Song

So I went to log into facebook as Audrey and found out that the account has been disabled. Apparently when they say "you can't create accounts that are fake names", they really mean that you can't have an awesome car, that you named, and that has become a member of your family and an integral part of your life. Audrey has more friends than some real people do.

And yet, she can't even have a facebook account? This is a sad day for social networking sites...

I would start some sort of "Ban Facebook" movement or something, but I do love the site so dearly.

Book scam!

2008-01-15T12:37:00.000-08:00

Currently listening to: The White Stripes - Icky Thump

So I went out to WPI today during lunch to try to sell back my last book. It was $150 new in August, so, I figured that with their typicaly screwage-calculation, I'd get atleast $50, possibly $60+.

The kid tells me that because the class isn't being taught this semester, that he could only offer me $13. I can get $75 at the start of the next semester when it's being offered.
Needless to say, I kept my book.

Back from the dead

2008-01-10T07:29:00.000-08:00

Currently listening to: Coheed & Cambria - Gravemakers & Gunslingers

So apparently I gave up on blogging for a while. Whoops.

As for now, I'm smack in the hell that is FIRST build season. We're currently doing mockups and trying to decide how we'll go about designing/building our robot.

In other news, I ended up doing really well on my Materials final a few weeks ago and got an A for the class. With that being my last class, I finished out WPI with a 3.73 GPA, so, that made me happy. I can grab my diploma next month, or, just wait till May and get it at Graduation.

Uhhh

2007-11-21T07:36:00.000-08:00

Currently listening to: Soulja Boy - Crank Dat

Um, so, yeah. This song is driving me insane. Or, more specifically, the fact that my middle schoolers are in love with it, keep singing it, and doing the retarded dance while at lego league.

I feel like everytime I hear this song, me gets a little dummer.

Week of funny quotes

2007-11-09T12:59:00.000-08:00

Currently listening to: Chamillionaire - Ridin' overseas

This past week was pretty fun. Last friday I went out for food & pool with Stacy and Lindsey, Saturday was Rob's Halloween Party in RI, Wednesday was Jimmy Eat World in Boston at the Orpheum, and last night I went out for some food with Gena. All in all, not too bad.

Along the way, these little comical gems popped up:

1. (While driving down to RI with Amanda and trying to find my camera in the backseat behind me while driving)
Tim: "Oh, I think I found it... nope, that's just my gun" (my toy gun that was part of my costume)

2. (Driving back from the Orpheum)
Tim: "Is this a 45?"
Stacy: "I dunno, but it's definitely not an 80 or whatever we're going!"
Tim: "Uh, we're going 100"

3. (Discussing dating-topics with Gena)
Tim: "People keep warning me not to date two girls in a row with the same name. I'm not worried about it though"
Gena: "Well, the good thing is, if you ever called her the wrong name, she'd never know"

Master of Science in ME - Progress

2007-11-01T11:04:00.000-07:00

Currently listening to: Mims - This is why I'm hot

After reading MikeD's last post about his progress in grad school, I threw my progress into a pie chart to get a visual.

This makes me happy. It's a shame though that I'll be starting fresh again at Class #1 come summer time...

Timmy B in the news again

2007-10-30T13:35:00.000-07:00

If any of you get "MassBusiness", the bi-monthly magazine for the Associated Industries of Massachusetts (AIM), check out pages 10 and 11. I was recently interviewed and featured in an article about FIRST and my work with Nypro and the CHS robotics team.

No World For Tomorrow - Initial Thoughts

2007-10-24T12:41:00.000-07:00

Currently listening to: Coheed & Cambria - The End Complete

So, as expected, my new Coheed cd came yesterday in the mail. This is the second part to the last cd, thus titled "Good Apollo, I'm burning Star IV, Volume 2: No World For Tomorrow".

Don't you just love Co&Ca cd names? Me too.

My initial impressions are good. It hasn't grabbed me yet as being as impressive and awesome as the previous albums, but I still like it. Then again, Co&Ca is often an acquired taste. It must be fully savored and explored before true feelings can be solidified. As I recall, I didn't really like the last album until after listening to it for almost 6 months. Seriously. So, perhaps I'll just have to let this grow on me.

However, it has struck me as funny that I feel like a huge scenester when trying to think of what my favorite track is so far. Typically, I like one of the odd-ball songs on the album (Everything Evil from SSTB, The Crowing from IKSSE:3, Fear Through the Eyes of Madness from Vol. 1) and very rarely jump right for the single. Yet, "The Running Free" is solid song and I really like it. It feels almost dirty to know that I'll be rocking out to the same song that some teeny-bopper will be listening to on MTV...

I love my love life

2007-10-23T09:19:00.000-07:00

Currently listening to: Coheed & Cambria - Time Consumer

I perplex myself sometimes. Last night I went out to dinner with Amanda and her mother & grandmother. I had never met them until now and we had a charming little dinner at O'Connors.

So I'm meeting the family of a girl whom I'm not dating, while the girl I want to be going on dates with and meeting her family is 7000 miles away in South Africa for 2 months...

sigh.

New Coheed on Myspace!

2007-10-22T13:21:00.000-07:00

Currently listening to: Coheed & Cambria - No World For Tomorrow

The new Co&Ca cd comes out tomorrow, but the band is awesome enough to put up the ENTIRE album on myspace today! Woohoo!

goodbye productivity for the rest of the day...

Why MikeD is awesome

2007-10-15T05:47:00.000-07:00

Currently listening to: Jimmy Eat World - Table for Glasses

If you don't know him, MikeD, or the Detonator as he's been known in various parts of China and East Germany for reasons unknown, is the man.

Yesterday he took a bunch of us out to a cliff in central CT for some rock climbing. I had a blast as it was my first time climbing on actual rocks. I've done indoor wall climbing for the past few years, but for some reason have never made it outside.

So on one of my last attacks on the rock yesterday, I'm at the bottom gearing up and MikeD is getting ready to belay me. We're both talking to these two girls from Sikorsky who had just finished the run and I was getting advice. I'm about 25 feet up and I hear Mike talking it up with one of the ladies. 5 more feet up, I head the click of cell phones opening, and numbers start being read off. The dude was giving his number out WHILE BELAYING ME. As unsafe as they may be, how could I be mad? Seriously. I'm proud of the lad.

How to impress Tim Baird

2007-10-11T13:48:00.000-07:00

Currently listening to: Dropkick Murphys - The State of Massachusetts

Have you ever wondered what the hottest thing you could say is that would impress the crap out of me?

While driving around in my car with the music really low so we could talk easier, lean in close and say "Is that Coheed I hear?"

Yeah. Seriously. You'll make my day.

Wow

2007-10-01T21:17:00.000-07:00

Currently watching: The Boondock Saints (still)

So, it's a really sad day when a judge has to choose between K-Fed and Britney Spears as responsible parents:
http://www.cnn.com/2007/SHOWBIZ/Music/10/01/spears.federline/index.html

The judge must have felt like I did when trying to decide between Kerry and Bush. Seriously. Both options suck, but you have to choose. You pretty much take the lesser of two evils and hope for the best.

Extremely content with myself

2007-10-01T20:55:00.000-07:00

Currently watching: The Boondock Saints

The past four days have been some of the best that I've had in a while. I'll break it down in case you care:

Friday - took my sister Stacy to Famous Dave's for her first time. It was fantastic as always.
Saturday - Hung out with all of my old SocComm friends and drank on the quad at wpi, in front of the cops, and it was perfectly fine. I then went to Nypro and accomplished a lot of difficult work on my little side project for FIRST (more to follow later)
Sunday - Hung out with Zach all day in Boston and then went to the Dropkick Murphys show at the Avalon. It was a terrific show, very high energy, and I witnessed my first live guitar smashing. I loved it all.
Monday - Got a lot done at work and then got a ton of homework done. As I type, I'm wrapping up one of the last problems due for thursday, I'm drinking a nice cool glass of Jameson's, watching The Boondock Saints, and I'm eating beef jerky. What could be better?

Seriously, if there's a favor or something that you've been wanting to ask of me but were afraid to, now's the time. After a good night's sleep in a few minutes, I'll be even better.

Woah

2007-09-26T22:16:00.000-07:00

Currently watching: Alien Resurrection

This just in: Bacardi 151 is some powerful stuff.

That is all.

New Coheed

2007-09-13T08:01:00.000-07:00

Currently listening to: Coheed & Cambria - The Running Free

Somebody posted a leaked version of the studio version of the new single off of the upcoming (40 days left!)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5FFdRddLaUU&mode=related&search==

I love youtube. Isn't the internet great?

Yah! for cheapness

2007-09-07T11:03:00.000-07:00

Currently listening to: Paramore - All We Know

I have two tiny rust spots developing above my windshield where some rocks/debris hit the car earlier and I wanted to touch it up. I looked at several car shops first to see if I could find a cheap little jar of paint, but nobody had the "brilliant black" that Audi uses. So I sucked it up and called the dealer...

Come to find out, they have a touch-up kit for only $14. It comes with a jar of the paint and clear coat as well. For $14. This will be the cheapest purchase of an item with four rings on it that I've ever made.

In other news, I also got that horrible driver-side mirror replaced today at J.N. Phillips. It only took them 3 tries to finally buy the right mirror, but this one looks good, and it's the factory direct heater one, just like the original and was covered by my insurance.
And the best part? It doesn't have the obnoxious "objects in mirror may appear larger than they really are" warning. :-)

Holy Busy Day

2007-09-04T09:36:00.000-07:00

Currently listening to: Nada (I forgot my headphones, whoops!)

So today is a crazy day to return to from the 3-day weekend. I'm starting my first class for my new material science course, I'm being inducted into Trinity Lodge later tonight, and I have a phone interview for some magazine for FIRST.

Oh, yeah, and I'm probably supposed to be working in there at some point, too. ;-)

The beginning of the end

2007-08-24T13:30:00.000-07:00

Currently listening to: Dropkick Murphys - Tessie

I filled out and faxed in my application for graduate student graduation for May 2008.

While that is quite a ways off, I only have one class left to take and I'm starting in a week and half. So, I should be done by Xmas and can sit pretty until May to collect degree #2.

I'm pretty pumped. It has been a long hard road for the MS. Between being told I was going to TA for Norton, then losing it, switching back to BS/MS, then running out of money and switching to part-time so that I could work, finding a job, and now doing classes at night for 3+ years, it has been quite a journey.

I figure that I'll spend spring semester focusing more on FIRST and applying for MBA programs and then start in the summer or fall of 2008. But that I'll figure out when I get there.

Speed Record Broken!

2007-08-23T13:57:00.000-07:00

Currently listening to: Styx - Come Sail Away

Since I've moved to the other side of town I have developed a new set of bike routes. I hate riding through Clinton because there's always construction or the evidence of previous construction going on and has caused me many popped tires.

One of my new favorites is one that takes me on 62N into the edge of Leominster, through Lancaster and Sterling, and then back down 70S to my condo. Part of this route includes a brutal climb up Legate Hill Rd. in Sterling. It's horrible. When I told my sis that I ride up it, she couldn't believe it. It's that steep and it's a long way up (It's actually a two-stage hill to boot, just to drive you nuts when you think that you've finally made it, you get kicked in the butt again).

However, as most hills do, this puppy goes down just as steeply on the other side. And it's one slope, not two medium ones like the way up. Previously, my fastest descent was 42mph on a hill in Berlin. As I raced down the other night, I saw my speedometer grace 43mph. I smiled, and tucked down lower. I then watched it climb up to 44, 45, and cap at 46mph.

I don't know if you've ever gone that fast on a road bike, but if you haven't, you should try it. It was intense. From what I can remember, I didn't pedal for a short stretch at the top as I was trying to settle into a tight tuck, and I could have also lowered myself a little more earlier on. I'm going to try it again on Sunday and see if these little additions will help me break the 50mph point.

We are the Champions!

2007-08-15T13:12:00.000-07:00

Currently listening to: Styx - Domo Arigato, Mr. Roboto

So, between reading kids on Delphi bragging about their wins and hearing Andy talk about driving for some God-crazy amount of 99 wins, I was curious as to what my record was. Thanks to 126 being cocky bastards, we put a shamrock on the robot for every win. From my examination of the 2000 and 2007 robots, I came up with:

2000 - Driver

UTC Regional - 7 Qualifying Round wins and 2 wins from winning the quarter-finals. We lost in the Semis.
Nationals (Orlando, Fl) - 6 Qualifying Round wins and 7 more from working our way through the bracket. We ending up losing in the finals and being 2nd in the country.

2007 - Coach

Boston Regional - 8 Qualifying Round wins and 6 wins from the finals rounds. We won.
BAE Regional - 6 (and a tie) Qualifying Round wins (we then lost in the quarters).
Championship (Atlanta, Ga) - 3 Qualifying Round wins and 2 from winning the Divisional Quarters. We lost in the Divisional Semis.

I'm pretty happy with that record. 22 wins as a driver and 25 as a coach. If I thought hard about how many matches I actually played, I could come up with a win percentage, but, that's for another day.

Yah!

2007-08-03T04:54:00.000-07:00

Currently listening to: Coheed & Cambria - In Keeping Secrets of Silent Earth:3

I made a playlist last night with all of my favorite Co&Ca songs. Thanks to the fact that most of their songs are 8 minute rock-ballads, the list is 1.3 hours long and will provide me with much entertainment.

Simple things can make my day sometimes.

I've finally grown up. I think.

2007-07-27T07:55:00.000-07:00

Currently listening to: Coheed & Cambria - Cuts Marked Through the March of Men

When I was a kid, I remember being really excited when I first started getting mail. Whatever it was, it was awesome. I was somebody. Some person out there was mailing shit to me. SWEET!

My dad would say stuff like "someday when you're an adult, all you'll get are bills and it won't be fun anymore and you won't want mail". I didn't believe it. HOW COULD YOU NOT WANT MAIL?!

Seriously though? Holy crap, the man was right. If it weren't for Netflix I'd never even check my mail box now a days.

Creeepppyyy

2007-07-10T10:55:00.000-07:00

Currently listening to: Trans-Siberian Orchestra - Canon Rock

So this guy recently moved into my condo complex.

He looks EXACTLY like Stephen King.

I'm not going to lie, but it's kinda creepy. I'll have to try to snipe a picture of him with my telephoto lens someday and put up a cross-comparison picture.

A Milestone, I think.

2007-07-09T12:03:00.000-07:00

Currently listening to: My Chemical Romance - Helena

So I just got done filling out a form to apply for a student loan. The student loan for my last course for my MS in Mechanical Engineering.

While I know that I'll be taking atleast, I don't know, 15 courses for my MBA someday, I'll hopefully be going to a cheaper school than WPI and could possibly afford all of the tuition just by saving alone, unlike the past three years where I've had to take out more and more loans just to handle it. So, this will hopefully be the last time that I have to do this in the next 20 years or so before I have little punks of my own that I'll need to pay for his/her/their tuition(s).

The funny part is, though, that when the credit check ran through, my initial reaction wasn't on the lines of "yah, I'm all set!", but more on the lines of "Idiots! You approved my credit for another loan!". I've acquired more debt in the past 7 months than I ever knew could be possible. I can't wait to dig my way out of this hole...

This week sucked

2007-07-02T08:44:00.000-07:00

Currently listening to: Finger Eleven - Paralyzer

Between my job sucking more, people sticking their noses into stuff that's not there business, and losing 3 of my 4 turtles, this week blew.

I need a vacation or something.

Thanks

2007-06-25T08:28:00.000-07:00

Currently listening to: Coheed & Cambria - Delirium Trigger

I come home from a perfect weekend of actually seeing my friends for once and not working continuously to find out that my dad has been throwing away more of my stuff. He's trying to clear out the house so that he can eventually move and sending all of my possessions, often expensive, to the dumpster without care or consideration.

So, I apparently now have to move all of my stuff out if I want to keep any of it. How wonderful.

2007-06-07T11:23:00.000-07:00

Currently listening to: AC/DC - Shoot to Thrill

I finally decided on the next pet purchase: Turtles. I always wanted turtles, and seeing how I just acquired a free 30-long tank, which saves me like $100, I figured that would be motivation enough.

I just purchased 2 Mississippi Maps from a breeder in NY and the little guys are being air-mailed to me now. I'm pumped.

When the lil' dudes move in, I'll put some pictures up.

I never cease to entertain myself

2007-06-06T06:19:00.000-07:00

Currently listening to: WAAF - The Hillman Morning Show

I'm trying to log into a site that I haven't used in a while and I forgot my password. I type in my username and it prompts me with a question to make sure it's really me.

The question is "Who's the baddest dragon of them all?"

I must have been in a really good mood that day. Man, I love myself.

Atlantic City, recap

2007-05-31T07:34:00.000-07:00

Currently listening to: Coheed & Cambria - The Light & The Glass

Woah. So we're back. I went to Atlantic City yesterday with Amanda Morrison and Dave Lavery and had a freakin blast. Here's a bulletized recap of the trip:

Went to JD's in Manchvegas late Tuesday night. The bartender gave me a free Gin & Tonic. I knew this trip was starting well already.
Woke up and flew to Philly at the crack of dawn. Tim doesn't like waking up early. I then get searched by the TSA guy and almost make us late becaue I forgot to take off my belt. What an idiot.
Ate a delicious McDonald's McGriddle for breakfast. While delicious, it turned out to be the worst decision of the day (I was sick all day afterwards)
While waiting for Dave in Philly, I realize that I know all the words to the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air theme song. I proceed to sing it.
Drive from Philly to AC in Lavery's car. It's a 1997 black-on-black-on-black Mustang GT. It was awesome. We bore Amanda with our talks of mountain climbing and robots to the point where she falls asleep in the back. Loser.
Lavery begins the day with a joke/story about a guy getting his left nut ripped off while climbing a fence. The mood of the day has now been officially set.
We walk up and down the boardwalk dodging seagulls, eating about 5 lbs of candy, and taking pictures with a dude dressed up as a crab.
Lavery plays black jack all day while Amanda and I play slots. And by slots, I mean the penny slots. We ventured into the nickel and quarter slots for a few, but that shit was too rich for my blood and we quickly evac'ed.
I got two free Gin & Tonics from the hott waitresses. Amanda would call them "skanks", but I'm sure they are really nice girls with good personalities. And hearts of gold. And big boobs.
We eat lunch at the House of Blues. I get attacked by the faucet. Dave and Amanda now think that I'm crazy.
On the way back to the airport, Lavery almost drives through a toll gate at about 50mph. The thing almost hit the windshield. I yelled "oh shit" while Amanda almost crapped her pants. It was ridiculous.
Amanda and I, because we're running late, book it all the way from Lavery's car to the gate. We made it in 6 minutes flat. I'm pretty sure that's some sort of record.

All in all, a fantastic trip. I hope to repeat this and similar trips/events in the near future.

And for something completely random

2007-05-29T08:28:00.000-07:00

Currently listening to: Pink Floyd - Money

So it looks like I'm going to Atlantic City tomorrow. For a day.

Amanda and I are flying from Manch to Philly and meeting Dave Lavery (NASA engineer who does a lot of work for FIRST) at the airport. We're then driving to Atlantic City to gamble for a day, then fly home.

So so random, yet so so awesome. I can't wait.

Do you still do FIRST?

2007-05-24T12:16:00.000-07:00

Currently listening to: Coheed & Cambria - Delirium Trigger

I'm currently being interviewed through email for an article about FIRST and my involvement. It's mainly focused on my high school involvement and how that contributed to my college experience and getting a job.

One of the last questions is "Have you continued with FIRST?"
I'm wondering if I should answer "yes" and list what I do, or ask her to rephrase the question to "Have you continued with anything that's not related to FIRST". It would be much easier and quicker to answer the latter.

Audrey! We're in a fight.

2007-05-24T12:07:00.000-07:00

Currently listening to: Coheed & Cambria - In Keeping Secrets of Silent Earth: 3

Aside from her initial purchase price, and weekly demands of premium gas, Audrey has been pretty low maintenance. The only time she really gets expensive is when I find fun after-market items to add to her, but that's my fault, not hers. It'd be like a husband buying fake boobs for his wife and then blaming her for the high price tag. Or something like that.

However, the little girl has been having some weird noises come out of her steering lately, and a little bit of a shimmy when I hit speeds higher than say, oh, 85. I figured I need to get the wheels aligned, and would be out like $40. So I bring the little miss down to Clinton Tire and have them check it out. Come to find out, the little punk has worn out her tie rods.

I researched how much a new set of tie rods would cost, and they're on average $65-70 each for an S4. I figured that with mark-up, labor, and the subsequent wheel alignment, I'd be out $400. Not happy.

I call Wagner Motors (the dealership where I adopted my beloved) to see if for some reason the warranty would cover this. It does not, as expected seeing how it's from wear/tear, and they quoted me $500. Even less happy.

WOAH! As writing this, Clinton Tire called me back with their quote of $314. I'm still not enthralled by this, but that's way better than what I was expecting.

Loved by the old, ignored by the young

2007-05-15T08:41:00.000-07:00

Currently listening to: AC/DC - You Shook Me All Night Long

The other night my friend's mom said that she wanted to marry me because she was so impressed by me having my own condo, nice car, and good job at the age of 25. She's like 50.

How come girls in the 18-30 bracket aren't impressed by this?

The Black Parade

2007-05-10T06:49:00.000-07:00

Currently listening to: My Chemical Romance - The Sharpest Lives

So I finally sucked it up and bought the newest My Chemical Romance cd the other day, The Black Parade. I know it's been out in a while, but I've been a good boy for the past few months and have bought literally nothing that didn't have the words "condo" or "mortgage" associated with it.

I must say, I like it. It's pretty good, catchy, keeps me going at work, and overall enjoyable. It's true to their typical styles. I've been listening to it for the past two days now and I thoroughly approve.

Weird

2007-05-09T07:23:00.000-07:00

Currently listening to: My Chemical Romance - Disenchanted

So I woke up this morning starving. Like, really hungry. Normally I can skip breakfast and just go to work, but this morning I was hungry, and hungry for certain things.

I had a donut that I got last night at Dunkin, and, get this, a pepperoni & cheddar sandwich. For breakfast. I don't know why, I just needed those ingredients to get ready for my day.

I think that I'm pregnant.

IRI Roadtrip of Doom 2007

2007-05-08T06:54:00.000-07:00

Currently listening to: My Chemical Romance - Welcome to the Black Parade

It looks like I'll be leading a caravan of robotics goons across the country again this summer to the IRI in July. Last year's trip was ridiculous and I hope this will top it.

Also, I'll be reffing Mayhem in Florida in September and possibly Wonderland in Toronto at the end of September as well.

This should prove to be a pretty eventful summer.

Ouch!

2007-05-01T13:27:00.000-07:00

Currently listening to: Coheed & Cambria - In Keeping Secret Silent Earth:3

So Metal Fest was this past weekend. Between Friday at 6pm to Saturday night at 11pm, I worked 19 hours. 19 hours at my 2nd job. Ugh. However, the 2 days were broken up by bits of fun, as drunk concert go-ers can be quite entertaining.

#1 We had these wrist bands to put on people to let them pass in/out all day. They were only good until 6pm though, at which point re-entry was limited to people I liked, cute girls, and band members. These two guys walk in (extremely blatantly gay), and I take their tickets, put their bands on, and rattle off my now-fully memorized line "These bands allow you to come and go until 6pm, at which point there will no longer be re-entry". When I said "re-entry", they both giggled and looked at eachother. It made my freakin day it was so hilarious.

#2 This kid comes up to me in pain and I ask what was wrong. Apparently, he had been in the pit for a really long time and just felt tired. I then asked why he looked like he was in horrible pain, and with great pride, lifts up his shirt to show me his bruises from the mosh pit...

Blogging again?

2007-04-26T08:53:00.000-07:00

Currently listening to: Coheed & Cambria - Blood Red Summer

Blogging again? Sure, why not.

I haven't blogged in forever because I was literally going insane since January and blogging was the last thing on my mind. Between FIRST, Nypro, Palladium, WPI, and some family issues, I've been going nuts and you probably didn't need to read about it.

I promise that I'll start posting more frequently and have happy, summer related things included.

Bonus? Whaaaaaaaatt???

2007-02-11T08:19:00.000-08:00

I was talking with one of the managers yesterday about salaries and other things financial when the concept of the managers' bonuses came up. At Nypro, when you're a manager (level 7 or above), you get a yearly bonus at xmas time that (depending on your level, salary, and time at the company) you get anywhere from 20-50% of your salary in a bonus.

Yes, you read that right, 50%. That means that in a year you can make 150% of your salary. That's ridiculous.

Apparently, though, you are eligible to receive that when you hit Project Engineer III status because you're practically a manager at that point. I'm level II right now. I'm one promotion away from getting bonuses.

Booyah.

In other news, I just bought a 51" rear-project tv on a crazy sale. It's ginormous, but it was cheap and it looks good. We'll soon commence Goldeneye and Halo multiplayer games on it once everything is set up.

Karma can also work with Awkwardness

2007-02-08T09:47:00.000-08:00

Aside from being incredibly sarcastic, I also relish in causing awkward, uncomfortable moments. Why? I don't know. I find it funny making people uncomfortable in social situations.

So I'm in the shop today and my boss walks by...
Boss: "is that the shirt that you wore last friday?"
Tim: "nope, I haven't worn this (A red Lacoste polo shirt) in a while"
Boss: "well, last friday was Women's Heart Awareness day and you were supposed to show your support!"
Tim: "Well, wouldn't you only do that if you were against killing ladies?"
(silence)
Boss: (walks away)

I thought it was funny. You might not have. I don't care.

Later, I was up in the HR department talking to one of the administrative assistants when this other women chimes in...
Woman: "ooh, I saw you on MySpace the other day"
Tim: "oh, um, on my page?"
Woman: "no, on somebody else's"
Tim: "um, what was it a picture of?"
Woman: "I don't remember what it was or where I saw it"
(silence)
Tim: "okay...."

Busy Day

2007-02-06T09:04:00.000-08:00

Currently listening to: Coheed & Cambria - Delirium Trigger

It just took me 4 separate sittings to get through IKSSE:3 because I keep getting called away to go work on something. I guess that's what happens when you listen to 8 minute long songs at work.

In other news, I almost have the condo looking civil. Pictures will be coming out soon.

Damn you knee!

2007-02-01T11:24:00.000-08:00

Currently listening to: Kyle Cease - One Dimple

So I had an MRI on Monday to investigate the knee situation. It's now confirmed, I partially tore my PCL as my doctor suspected. I have to have surgery on it to repair the damage apparently.

My question is this: has anyone reading this ever had surgery on their left knee and drove a standard? I'm curious as to whether or not pressing a clutch is possible with a cast/brace on your knee. If it's possible, I'll probably just suck it up now and get it over with, where as I may just wait until May when my class is done. If I can't drive, I can more or less survive without a car in Clinton now that I live next door to Nypro.

My shoes are full of metal

2007-01-29T19:26:00.000-08:00

Currently listening to: Coheed & Cambria - Welcome Home

I just got back a little while ago from Leominster Hospital to have an MRI on my left knee. This is for the never ending issue that I've been having with it since I hurt it last May on Mt. Madison when I slipped on ice coming down. It has yet to heal and hurts like a mother all the time. Arg.

So they have me take off everything that's metallic and jump up on the narrow sliding table that passes into/out of the ginormous Tesla Coil. As I'm laying there, my feet feel funny. Now, going into this process I was concerned about my hands. I'm pretty sure that I've had a few steel/aluminum slivers that never came out and they would tear my flesh apart as they tried to align themselves to the poles once the coil turned on (easy there geeks, I know the aluminum ones wouldn't, they're non-ferrous). However, as he turned it on, my feet started to tilt on their own.

The tech asked if my shoes were being attracted. I said "no, I don't think so, they're all rubber and leather". However, as we went in a hair further, my shoes got sucked to the side of the tube. Apparently, walking around in the machine shop for 2 years got my shoes so filled with tiny bits of metal that they were being heavily attracted to the machine. Let's just say that I took them off awfully fast.

Two fun things for the day

2007-01-25T11:41:00.000-08:00

So two cool things happened to me today. Probably not that cool, but I was excited.

1. I found this great recording of "Welcome Home" on YouTube. The video is decent and the audio is pretty good. I have the DVD that it is from, but it's nice to have this online that I can view anywhere.

2. I charged my Roomba and ran it around for a bit today during lunch. It's the most fun that I've ever had vacuuming. Holy crap. I just said that I have fun vacuuming. Seriously though, the little guy just keeps trucking around sucking stuff up. The best part is when it finds something really dirty, it'll stop and drive in a few circles a couple of times to make sure he gets it all. You guys will have to come over and watch the magic.

You can't honk at Nana

2007-01-18T11:17:00.000-08:00

Currently listening to: Coheed & Cambria - Everything Evil

I was running some errands for my Gram (Mom's mom) today during lunch and I bumped into my Nana (Dad's mom) at the bank. We both left the bank at the same time and wound up driving together (me behind her) across most of Clinton.

At the light in front of Victory, they recently changed the light locations around a bit so that if you're a good driver and sit right at the stop line (as compared to way over it like most people) you cannot see the light. You actually have to cross the line a bit to see it change to green. My Nana was sitting there for about 15 seconds not moving. Granted, that's not a long time, but it's a long time when you're in a rush and you're from Massachusetts.

My first reaction was to honk to let her know it was green (as there was a long line of cars behind us) but I always feel like a jerk when I honk, plus, it was my Nana. You don't honk at Nana, do you? I didn't think so.

So, I sat there instead and waited. She eventually saw it and drove away.
Then I found $5.

Country Casual

2007-01-16T20:40:00.000-08:00

Currently watching: The X-files - Squeeze

In the last issue of the 8 Point Sportsman's Club newsletter, there is an ad for an event coming up:

The Club will be hosting a Woodchoppers ball on Saturday, January 27 starting at 6pm. Cost is $10 per person and dress is Country Casual. The Dave Pike band will be playing. Tickets available at December meeting.

Country Casual? Are you shitting me? Seriously, I think that Country Formal would be pretty casual to begin with. If somebody can adequately describe to me what Country Casual is, you can be my friend.

Crazy Japanese kids and their games

2007-01-16T08:33:00.000-08:00

Currently listening to: New Found Glory - On my mind

Watch this.

Watch it again. Mesmerized, aren't you? So was I. I watched it like 3 times in a row. That kid is fantastic.

I firmly believe that I attract Weirdos

2007-01-14T17:33:00.000-08:00

Currently watching: The X-files - Pilot Episode

I went to Target in Worcester last night to pick up more stuff for my condo. I bought some bowls, glasses, cooking stuff, and the sweet-ass stainless-steel paper towel holder. It was the most luxurious $27 that I've ever spent.

So I proceed to the register to get out of there before I spend any more money, because, let's face, this condo is already making me broke. The lady is giving me a weird vibe, so I'm just hoping that this will go quickly.

While scanning my stuff, she leans in closer towards me like she needs to tell me something secret, so I lean forward as to better hear her. She then yells (not whisper, as I expected) "DO YOU KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT CELL PHONES?!". I tell her that yes, I know a decent amount as I've had one for many years and I'm a tech geek.

Instead of asking me something technical, she proceeds to inform me that she had dropped it in the sink. I try to power it up, but the most that I can get from it is the screen to start up, flash Verizon, and then turn off. I take the battery off and there's a little bit of water in there, but nothing major. I tell her to let it dry for the night, try it in the morning, and go back to the store the next day as it might warrant a new phone purchase.

As I'm trying to turn it on again, she's kind enough to mention that it didn't actually drop into the sink, but instead fell in the toilet. I pause for a second and take in the incredibly awkward silence that has befallen our space. I reply "well, I guess I'll be washing my hands as soon as I get home". She goes "well, I did flush before it happened!"

Needless to say, I touched as little as I could and scrubbed my hands adequately as soon as I could.

Hott

2007-01-12T10:24:00.000-08:00

I'm so buying one of these Solio Chargers. This thing is sweet in terms of its size, price, and how much it can charge. I think I might get one for camping and traveling with FIRST.

It's official

2007-01-11T11:51:00.000-08:00

Currently listening to: New Found Glory - To good to be

So I'm driving to work this morning and cut somebody off trying to get through an intersection in Worcester. I didn't mean to, it just kinda happened.

I glanced in my rear view mirror at the next light to see who it was. It was an old lady that had to be atleast 70 years old. And she was a nun.

I'm going to hell.

Awkward Walk-through

2007-01-04T07:27:00.000-08:00

Currently listening to: Nick Swardson - Comedy Central Presents

So I did the final walk-through of my condo the other day to inspect all the work and make sure it's good to go before I sign the rest of the paperwork.

While checking out the bathroom, I noticed that there was a large amount of hidden space up in the suspended ceiling tiles that you could hide stuff if you wanted to. I proceeded to comment that it was large enough to hide several bodies.

It suddenly got really quiet in there...

Best day that I've had in a long time

2006-12-27T12:12:00.000-08:00

Currently listening to: Aaron Lewis - Black

So I woke up wicked sick today and almost didn't go to work. I left early yesterday because I felt so bad. I thought today would suck.

However, between lunch time and now, I've found out that I'm being promoted to Project Engineer II (with a small raise to go with it) and I won a new Digital Camera through a photo contest that was taking place here at work.

Booya!

Done!

2006-12-18T10:45:00.000-08:00

Currently listening to: Coheed & Cambria - The Crowing

This past week has been hell. Between breaking up with Bethany, finishing the lego robot and competing all day Saturday at WPI, and then spending the past month pretty much finishing my Marketing project (which resulted in next to no sleep last night), I'm feeling pretty burnt out.

However, I'm now single and have 3+ weeks off from both school and robotics.

What will I do with all of this free time?!

Sad Day for Comics

2006-12-08T06:03:00.000-08:00

I just read this over at the Universal Press Syndicate page. How sad.

Cha-academic-ching

2006-12-04T08:33:00.000-08:00

Currently listening to: Coheed & Cambria - The Crowing

I've been worried lately about whether or not I could afford to take a class this spring. WPI, as of 20 minutes ago, hadn't returned my emails/calls regarding my possible loan options and I have no savings left thanks to le condo. As much as I'd like to not take a course while working 2 jobs and doing the high school FIRST season, I really want to just get this thing over with and taking a semester off would be stupid.

Well, lo and behold, they got back to me. I now have a Stafford Subsidized loan with my name on it for my spring course.

WPI Financial Aid Office, I thank you.

Sick

2006-12-01T08:40:00.000-08:00

Currently listening to: The Killers - When you were Young

I've been sick to some degree for 8 days now. It's driving me nuts. I have a crazy allergy attack on Thanksgiving Day and managed to disrupt 3 dinners. I was also high on Benedryl and Sudafed (and WINE) by the end of the night, so, that was kinda cool.

Now I just have a cold or something. I should probably sleep more. Hah! Like that will happen anytime soon.

Sharpish

2006-11-15T17:10:00.000-08:00

Currently watching: Green Street Hooligans

I've been to London twice now for a total of almost 3 months. I love the city, the accents, and their phrases. The British have awesome words and phrases. I tried to pick some up, but, in the 2+ years that it has been since my last visit, I've forgotten most of them, sadly.

I'm going to actively try to start bringing them back. One by one, I'll pick them back up and introduce them into my vocabularly. The first one I want to bring back is "sharpish". For those of you not in the know, it means "right away" or "immediately". It was one of my favorite words to hear them say, and I didn't think of it until just now while watching GSH.

True.com

2006-11-08T07:36:00.000-08:00

Attention single people of the world! Are you looking for that special someone and are curious which medium to search through? Well, here's a hint: Try any one of them besides True. "why?" you might ask? They'll steal your money, that's why.

Last year after I broke up with Kristin, I was looking for another lady friend and had profiles on two sites; yahoo personals and true. Yahoo proved to be good once again (it's where I met Bethany) but True.com was full of crazies and girls that just talked about themselves the whole time. So, I cancelled my membership in April and didn't think anything of it since.

About a week ago I noticed that I had a $49.99 charge on my credit card from True. A few days later, a weird $0.99 charge pops up too. I called the company inquiring why I was being billed once again for something that I wasn't even using. The operator tells me that I clicked on something and signed myself up again. I had not signed myself up again and was quite annoyed by this. The gentleman tells me that he can reimburse me for only 1/2 of the incurred fees, oh which, I haven't seen yet.

So, I now have to pay something like $25.50 because of a mistake that they made. Fantastic.

Needless to say, I do not recommend this site to anyone who values their money.

This humor makes cents

2006-10-26T14:07:00.000-07:00

Currently listening to: Coheed & Cambria - Devil in Jersey City

So I noticed that I had a lot of pennies in my mug on my desk and decided to count them out and deposit them at the bank. I had 214 pennies, several of which were Wheat pennies that I'd save for my dad because he collects them. So, I put 210 in a zip lock back and start to walk there when lunch time rolled around.

My boss asked me what I was doing with all the pennies and offered to buy them off of me to save me the hassle of bringing them up to the window that has the change counter. I gladly accepted because this made my life easier. Immediately afterwards he goes "I always like to buy pennies off of people because I like to find the Wheat ones and add them to my collection!". I did my best to hold back my smirk, knowing damn well that the bag contained ZERO Wheat pennies.

When I got to the bank, the teller at the window I went to was named Penny. Wierd, huh?

Overstressed

2006-10-23T08:52:00.000-07:00

Currently listening to: Papa Roach - Wanna be loved

So, in an effort to accumulate some more financial resources, I started to work at the Palladium again on Saturday night. Granted, it was the Dropkick Murphy's, so, it was a fun night and not really that hard work, but it made me realize something. I'm way overstressed right now.

I'm always busy and I don't do anything for myself anymore. I spend 1/3 of my time working at a job that bores me, 1/3 at a school that's killing my bank account while taking classes that I hate, and the last 1/3 volunteering my time to help others. In addition to the high school robotics team that I've been doing for years, I also mentor 2 Lego League middle school teams now and I'm apparently roped into also working with the Woburn Boys & Girls club now (we built an entire playground on Saturday morning/afternoon). Hopefully the latter doesn't go far beyond this weekend.

I need a serious change of pace ASAP. I'm growing increasingly unhappy with my lifestyle and see no change of action anytime in the near future unless I bring the change about myself.

Exhausted

2006-10-19T12:56:00.000-07:00

Currently listening to: Metallica - Wherever I may roam

I'm freakin exhausted. The past several weeks have seen a new element added into my schedule: home touring and mortgage applying/searching. As if I weren't busy enough.

However, it seems that the search to find someone dumb enough to give me a huge chunk of change is almost over. This makes me relieved beyond words because it was going to be literally impossible to purchase this condo without the particular loan type that I'm looking for.

It's going to be weird buying this thing. I'm going to have to put myself on an extremely strict budget and stick to it in order to prevent bankruptcy. But, for the past two years I've lived in a pretty carefree lifestyle because I was making enough to pay for rent and the car and the rest went either to school or fun stuff. The fact that I've gone this long without worrying (well, worrying a lot) about money is surprising. I've always lived on the frugal end of things, so, it shouldn't be hard to make myself do. It feels like this is my right of passage to finally become an adult. I've graduated with my BS, soon to have my MS, I have a good job, a great car, and all that's left is my own place to live.

Wow, I feel old.

Things that Weird me out

2006-10-17T13:26:00.000-07:00

Currently listening to: Nothing - Massive Headache

Is it just me, or does it weird you out when you walk into an empty public bathroom, sit down in a stall, and find the toilet seat to be surprisingly warm upon butt-seat contact?

Just knowing that someone was just sitting there, a mere minute or a few seconds ago, soon enough that the seat is still warm from their butt, gives me the willies.

Lesson Learned

2006-10-11T08:54:00.000-07:00

Currently listening to: The Clash - Rock the Casbah

Bearded Dragons don't really need to "washed" as their skin is often shedding so they always have pretty new skin, and he doesn't really encounter anything in his cage that would make him "dirty". However, it is helpful to keep their skin moist with a sprayer or let him run around in some warm water in the bath/sink.

I used to do this to Trogdor when he was a baby because he was shedding constantly and it helped the skin to come off by loosening it up. Once he stopped growing so fast, I eased up on the act. However, Bethany wanted to see him play in water last night and I thought it was about time to get the lil' guy wet again.

I filled up the sink with like 1/2" of water and put him in. He's never been in the sink before, and with the combination of the slipper stainless steel surface, he really didn't know what to make of it. He kind of moved around, but not as much as I'd been hoping for. So, to get him going, I started moving the water around in waves and dribbling some on his back. This was all fine and dandy and he sat there and took it. However, at times like this, Tim Baird can become mischievous. I made a slightly "bigger" wave and splashed some on his head.

Trogdor did not like this. He let me know about his displeasure by flipping out, flailing his legs (read: claws) like crazy, vectored for my arm, and proceeded to run (read: claw) his way up my bare arm. Those claws can press in deep when he's pissed.

Lesson Learned: Don't splash water on Bearded Dragon's faces. They will burninate you.

Condo?

2006-10-04T13:43:00.000-07:00

Currently listening to: The Killers - Sam's Town

For a while now, I've been looking around at housing options in the Clinton-Worcester area, more importantly, something in between the two, but favoring Clinton seeing how I plan to work there indefinitely and only be in Worcester for a few more years for school.

I've been considering two options in this matter: a triple decker where I'd live in one and rent the other two for added income or a single-family house/condo type thing. The former has it's appeal because my mortgage after receiving payment from my renters would be pretty cheap. However, it would require me to actually be a landlord and do stuff for them. I don't have time, nor do I want to depend on somebody actually living in the other two. If they move and I go several months with no renters I'd be screwed. The latter option has it's appeal because the total cost would be cheaper but with a higher monthly payment for me, and I'd own less house.

However! In Clinton for the past year, they've been renovating this old factory (I think it was built in 1895) into condo units. I love the look of converted factory units where the combination of brick walls and modern conveniences all come together. They finally have pictures up on the site and I found some pictures on the page of my cousin's real estate page, Hogan Real Estate. If I do this, I'd want a 2 bedroom unit, but the pictures are the same more or less.
I'm taking a tour a week from today and there are units that will be completed right before my apartment lease ends, so, this could work out pretty smoothly if I find one I like and time it right.

We'll see. Your personal comments on this matter are highly appreciated and welcomed, I'd like to see what people think about this.

Driving in the Fall is Awesome

2006-10-02T08:28:00.000-07:00

Currently listening to: Panic at the Disco - I Constantly Thank God for Esteban

The past few days have been a driving joy. The stretch of Route 70 between Route 140 and Clinton is lined on both sides and covered by a canopy of trees. For about 6 miles you drive surrounded by the branches and leaves of the trees.

With the fall season changing now and causing the leaves to slowly fall to the road, there is usually a decent amount waiting on the ground for me when I come flying down doing 60mph in the morning. As I pass by, they rustle up behind the car and go flying. There's nothing more satisfying than sitting on my heated leather seats, cruising in 6th gear while watching leaves go flying in the wake of my German driving machine.

New Ringtone

2006-09-28T12:43:00.000-07:00

Currently listening to: Coheed & Cambria - The Final Cut

I downloaded a new ringtone today. It's now "Riding Dirty" by Chamillionare.

Oh yes. It is on.

BIG CHANGE

2006-09-21T06:18:00.000-07:00

Currently listening to: Comedy Central Presents - Ted Alexandro

I made a big change in my life. So big, that I put it in caps-lock in the subject line. HUGE.

When my father first sat me down as a kid and said something like "Tim, my son, you stink. It's time to start using deodorant", I began using Speed Stick, the Original scent formula that makes you smell like a pine forest. I've been using this same stuff since like 6th grade simply because that's what he used, and I've grown to love it. I get to walk out into the world each day smelling like a Christmas Tree knowing that the ladies will be impressed. Well, atleast the rugged, logger-type girls.

Well, about a month ago I was at Sam's Club buying stuff and knew that I was down to my last stick and needed more. Alas, they had none. They no longer carried Speed Stick. I was faced with a dilemma: buy something else there for the cheap, bulk price or go somewhere else and pay full price for Speed Stick.

I think you know where the story turned at this point. I stared at the selection for a while and finally chose Old Spice High-Endurance, Pure Sport scent deodorant.

I've had it on for about 2 hours now, and I have to admit, I'm liking it. It smells great, feels pretty good under there, the container is larger than the Speed Stick ones so it'll last longer, and it was just as cheap. After 12 years of smelling like a tree, I've finally moved on.

Feel free to smell me next time you see me. I assure you that you'll be impressed.

Swweeettt

2006-09-19T10:54:00.000-07:00

Currently listening to: Coheed & Cambria - Welcome Home

The past few days have been pretty cool. On Saturday night SocComm had Kyle Cease come and entertain us for a while. As expected, he was hilarious. He was super cool afterwards too. He hung out with us for a while, made fun of us, signed our crap (I had him sign my "10 Things I Hate About You" DVD box, I'll post pictures later), and Dave and I got our picture with him:

Sunday, Bethany and I hung out, ran some errands, and then went to Famous Dave's down in Braintree. It's my favorite BBQ place, despite being a chain restaurant. You should try it sometime if you haven't yet.

And today I noticed that Co&Ca finally put The Amory Wars Sketchbook up for sale which chronicles the characters, the background info, and where the story will be going next with the upcoming album. I, of course, instantly bought it. I'm pretty pysched.

Seemingly Inappropriate

2006-09-12T12:28:00.000-07:00

Currently listening to: Nothing, I have a splitting headache

After I got out of my lecture last night, I went up to the Game Night with my roommate Dave to check out what the SocComm kids were up to. Much free pizza, soda, and ice cream were promptly consumed while watching Red play Risk. Dave and I soon began a game of Jenga.

About half-way through I realized that it felt borderline inappropriate. You know, to be playing a game, involving a tower, that in the end, winds up crashing down. And you laugh.

It's probably similar to playing Battleship on the anniversary of the Pearl Harbor attack.

Fun weekend

2006-09-11T12:17:00.000-07:00

Currently listening to: Coheed & Cambria - The Light & The Glass

This weekend was pretty cool. It was my last "real" weekend for a while because starting tonight I'll now have 2 courses to deal with, FIRST, FIRST Lego League, FIRST Vex, and, oh yeah, work. So, I goofed off and relaxed alot.

Friday: didn't really do much after work. Went to Moe's with some SocComm people and then met Bethany later for coffee.

Saturday: got ready and headed out for the day. Helped Beth look at cars. She finally decided on this sexy 2003 black Eclipse. I like it. Then I went to Meredith's wedding and reception and then helped my grandmother at the rest home for a bit before calling it a night.

Sunday: woke up early and went to Boston all day with Bethany. A little Quincy Market action combined with a trip to the aquarium and staring at tiny people from the Prudential made for an awesome day/night. One of the best days that I've had in a while. Of course, I ruined it by staying up till 3ish-am last night getting homework done before today, but, oh well!

Awesome Day!

2006-09-08T14:24:00.000-07:00

Currently listening to: Coheed & Cambria - The Crowing

Today rocked. Rocked a lot.

7:30 - Woke up late for work. Didn't care though, because I remembered that I showered the night before so I didn't need to. However, I did have to skip breakfast. I proceeded to suck down a Red Bull to make up for this.

8ish - Show up to work late. Nobody notices. Sweet.

8:20 - I find a package waiting for me, with handwriting that I oddly recognize. I open it up to find a book that I've been hoping to get for a while now, the travel log of Gordon Lankton from when he went around the world in 1957 on a motorcycle. Gordon, for those of you not familiar with Clinton, is the former CEO of Nypro and currently the Chairman of the Board. The book was filled out to me inside and signed. Booyah. I can't wait to start reading it.

8:30 - Ray from Fluid Power Automation shows up with coffee and muffins. I now have breakfast. For free. Double bonus!

10:00 - Attend a 1 hour + 401k meeting where I learn alot, get more free food, and killed an hour during the day.

12:00 - Go to my dad's to eat Bearburger Helper and Deer Venison Sausage. Sweet!

12:30 - Give myself a fresh new buzzcut. Now I look slick.

Ah, good times today. Now it's off to Moe's for a scrumptious Tex-Mex dinner.

Whatttt!?!?!

2006-09-05T12:17:00.000-07:00

Currently listening to: Dane Cook - Let's Do This

I have homework due for the FIRST NIGHT of one of my grad classes, Organizational Behavior. Homework. Due on the first night.

Who does that? Seriously. That's such a ballsy move that even undergrad professors will rarely do it. But for a grad class?
It's not that bad of a deal for me because I'm used to it from a few years ago and I know my way around the myWPI website, but what will Joe Schmoe 40 year old dude who is just coming back to school do about this? I have a feeling that I'll be the only one with the homework done for that class.

That's good motivation to do it, huh?

Holy Back Order, Batman.

2006-08-30T12:58:00.000-07:00

Currently listening to: Orange Island - A Punch in the Face

So when I ordered my Short Shifter from AWE Tuning on July 7th (read: almost two months ago) I also ordered these Performance Pedals. They're aluminum with rubber knobs to give me better grip than my current all rubber ones. My feet slip often on these (especially if it's raining out and my shoes are still wet) and I think these will help a lot. Plus, they're pretty snazzy looking and I think will offer some nice contrasting looks to the interior of the S4.

HOWEVER! While the SS came right away, I never received the pedals. I called to find out what was wrong and the guy said "a couple of weeks". Well, a couple of weeks put me at about the start of August, so, I called about a month ago and talk to another guy. He told me again "a couple of weeks". Holy crap people, just give me a realistic date, I'm a big boy, I can handle a long lead time if that's the truth, just let me know so I can plan stuff out.

Either way, I'll have them soon despite my extreme displeasure with the company at this point. And the thing is, I want to order more stuff from them in the near future, so, these things better kick ass to lighten my purchasing mood.

Short Shifter Installation

2006-08-30T07:46:00.000-07:00

Currently listening to: The Beastie Boys - Remote Control

This is a follow up to yesterday's post that I meant to include before.

If you're considering installing a SS in your manual car, you might be asking yourself "how long will this take, what tools do I need, and how hard is it?". Well, here are your answers:

Time - This took me about 2 hours total. That includes time that I spent taking before/after pictures to record the event as I do with all upgrades, time that I spent walking to the nearest hardware store to buy the torx wrench that I needed which was conveniently the only size torx wrench I didn't own, and clean up. If you're smart and double check that you have every single tool before you begin (remember, once you start, you won't be able to just drive to the store, so, think this one out. I was thankfully within 5 minutes walking distance of a store!), you'll probably be fine and get it closer to 1 hour of actual work.

Tools - You'll need a set of metric allen wrenches, some torx wrenches (size will probably vary per car, but I needed a T10 and a T15), a Phillips head screw driver, and a arbor press. You can substitute the press with a hammer and a few good hits if you don't have one. Also, a decent supply of rags. Everything has white grease on it and you'll make a mess of your car if you don't have some to rest your parts/tools on. Remember, you're doing all of the work from inside of your car, so be nice to your seats/floor.

Difficulty - The process isn't really that hard, it's mainly time consuming. After you pop up your shift boot and cover plate, there's maybe 20-25 bolts to remove, a few nuts and spacers to pull out, and then you have to carefully shimmy the shift-linkage-assembly out to do some disassembly-reassembly work to it outside. Anyone with the tools listed above should be able to do this fine.

Short Shifter

2006-08-29T13:18:00.000-07:00

Currently listening to: Dispatch - Carry You

One of the other upgrades that I've been considering for a while for the S4 was a Short Shifter. A short shifter modifies the linkage ratios in the transmission (stick end, you don't even touch the actual transmission) to decrease the amount that your hand moves during shifts. This allows the user to shift from gear to gear more quickly and easily.

After reading through the S4 Forums and researching several brands, I decided on the B&M Short Shifter from AWE Tuning. For the price, performance, and over-all recommendation from other S4 drivers, this one seemed was the winner.

I installed it about a month ago now and have been driving with it ever since. I'm very happy with the change. Before I had a total throw of about 6 inches (if you measure from two extremes such as 1st to 2nd), and now I have about 3.5 inches. While driving, your hand barely moves, it's similar to playing a racing arcade game. Shifting is effortless and quick compared to before.

If you've been considering installing one, I highly recommend it.

Victory!

2006-08-24T12:08:00.000-07:00

Currently listening to: Eisley - One Day I Slowly Floated Away

Victory is upon us, fellow supporters of the Big 8. No longer shall the condescending glares of the so-called "planet pluto" be upon us. It has officially be demoted.

Take that you POS rock and ice!

Brilliant

2006-08-22T07:04:00.000-07:00

Currently listening to: A New Found Glory - It's Not Your Fault

Dear members of A New Found Glory,
please give a raise to whoever came up with the idea for the video "It's Not Your Fault".

That is all.

Pluto, the Poseur

2006-08-14T13:39:00.000-07:00

Currently listening to: Dane Cook - Someone Shit on the Coats

I've always thought of Pluto as the biggest (or tiniest) poseur of them all, and I'm glad that some people finally agree with me. Pluto thinks it's soooo cool, hanging out in the background of our galaxy not doing any real work. All of the other planets are closer to the sun, spinning around in faster orbits of the core while lazy ass Pluto just sits out there.

And it doesn't even have a normal orbit. Ooooh, look at me, I'm eliptical. What an ass.

Good Idea, Bad Idea

2006-08-14T11:27:00.000-07:00

Currently listening to: Coheed & Cambria -A Favor House Atlantic

Good Idea - trying to clean out your snack drawer by using up old condiments and sauces

Bad Idea - squeezing an entire hot sauce packet from Taco Bell onto one chicken nugget and then eating it in one bite.

Tattoo

2006-08-08T13:30:00.000-07:00

Currently listening to: Sublime - Jailhouse

So I finally got the tattoo. As seen below, it's on my back right shoulder and it's about 5"x5". If you're not familiar with the symbol, it's from the Bag.Online.Adventures, the graphic novels that Claudio Sanchez is publishing to go along with the Coheed & Cambria story line. It's called "the keywork".

As far as the actual procedure went, it wasn't as bad as I expected. The outlining needle that he used to go around everything is very fine and very sharp. It felt like he was dragging a vibrating Xacto knife across my back. Thankfully though, that only took about 15 minutes. The filling-in operation, which was about 1 hour 15 minutes, was far less painful and felt like a hair-buzzer was being dragged across my skin with minimal pain.

Living up to my words

2006-08-03T08:32:00.000-07:00

Currently listening to: Coheed and Cambria: In keeping Secrets of Silent Earth

Almost one year ago I made a promise to do two things to overcome fears of mine: heights and needles. These are both goals that I've had for a long time and any faithful friends/readers out there will know what I'm talking about.

On the first weekend day that is nice and we're all free, three of my cousins and I will plunge out of a plane from 30,000 feet.

The second goal will be accomplished in the next few weeks after I work out a few more details. Pictures will follow.

IRI Road Trip of Doom, in Review

2006-07-27T12:16:00.000-07:00

Currently listening to: Coheed & Cambria - Once Upon Your Dead Body

From Wednesday thru late Monday night, I was on a road trip with some of the FIRST guys/gals to Indianapolis. Here's a breakdown by day of the excitement and boredom that comes with traveling to the midwest by car:

Tuesday - Rented minivan, loaded up the robot and tools, then packed. Ran over huge piece of retread on 290 and feared damage to S4.

Wednesday - drive to Clinton. Horrible death smell coming from underside of car. I believe that a piece is stuck in the wheels/brakes but don't have time to worry. Drive for many hours to Niagara Falls. Almost go into Canada accidently. Get offended by border guard. Drive away from him up a "do not enter" road into head on traffic to show him my displeasure. Take many pics of the falls. Drive to Ohio.

Thursday- Wake up early and ride roller coasters all day at Cedar Point. Drive to Indy.

Friday - Compete all day. Sit in jacuzzi all night.

Saturday - Compete all day. Saw Clerks 2 and went out to eat at Steak and Shake (best restaurant for under $10 ever!)

Sunday - Wake up wicked early and drive to Cleveland, OH. Got stuck in the middle of the Puerto Rican Pride Parade. Finally found our way to the Rock 'n Roll Hall of Fame (wicked awesome, you have to go).

Monday - Drive all day through some of the most boring terrain of Ohio, Penn, and New York. Get home late and stuff for my calc final.

That car still amazes me...

2006-07-27T11:14:00.000-07:00

Currently listening to: Jimi Hendrix - Stone Free

Last night I was pulling out of White City plaza on Rt. 9 heading away from Worcester but needed to go back into the Woo to get home, thus requiring a pain in the butt U-turn. As anyone who has done so before on that same stretch, you know that you're only choice is to pull a U'ey right before Daddy's Junky Music or go up to CVS and do it on the light. As I pulled out, somebody came up quick on my tail and tried to come on my left and cut me off. At the same time, I noticed that I had a small window of opportunity coming up with the opposing traffic. Using the great acceleration that the S4 has, I hauled up in front of the dude, cut to the left, cranked the wheel while doing 45 mph and did a quick break slide around the 180 degree turn, squealed the tires and blasted off in the opposite direction.

That's the fastest that I've ever done a U-turn, it was amazing. And the body didn't roll at all. Man I love that car.

Snakes on a Plane

2006-07-18T08:59:00.000-07:00

Currently listening to: Reel Big Fish - Turn the Radio Off

So for months now we've all been joking about how horrible "Snakes on a Plane" will probably be, just from the name, premise and rumors alone.

The other night Bethany and I are at the movies seeing "you, me and dupree" (which was pretty funny, I recommend it). As we were buying the tickets, this teenager comes up to us and asks if we'll participate in a movie-trailer-survey thingy. We had plenty of time, so we agreed.

I watched an extended trailer for "wicker man" with Nicholas Cage. It looks pretty good. I watched it a few times and answered a bunch of questions. I kept prodding the kid for free crap from the concession stand, but he wasn't having any of that. I didn't even get some skittles or something. Cheap skate.
Bethany, however, was fortunate enough to watch the one for 'Snakes'. Now, the ironic part is that she's quite afraid of snakes. I finished before she did and walked around to her booth and was listening to her responses. Two of the questions were "name up to 5 scenes that you thought were good and would lead you to see the movie in theaters" and "name up to 5 scenes that would cause you to not see the movie". She said that none of the scenes were good, and then for the bad, she said "snakes", "planes", and "snakes on planes".

It was hysterical.

Yah for shoplifting!

2006-07-13T06:29:00.000-07:00

Currently listening to: My Chemical Romance - It's not a fashion statement, it's a deathwish

This just in! From now on, you have a one-time get out of jail free card at Wal-Mart to steal $25 or less and not get prosecuted.

Want a new cd, dvd, or anything else of small value, but have no money?! Don't worry anymore, just go steal* it!

*www.timbaird.com neither encourages nor condones the theft of products from Wal-Mart or any other store. Well, unless it's something really awesome and you are broke*

I put the 'harm' back in Charm

2006-07-06T08:20:00.000-07:00

Currently listening to: Coheed & Cambria - Three Evils

Anybody who knows me or has read this blog before knows that while at restaurants, I talk to the waitresses. A lot. Borderline flirting at times. While I was single, this was a great past-time, especially at Bertucci's where all the waitresses are my age and hot.

The other day while eating at the OG, Bethany and I were discussing our love for good bread at restaurants, namely, the scrumptions ones served there. I recalled a story of how one time with a group of friends I had finagled my way into getting free sticks to go home with from the waitresses. Of course, at the time, I was unattached and could go full-throttle on the charm with no remorse of repercussions.

However, this time, I was on a date. I wanted to see if I could do it again without pissing her off and without being a total bread-sleaze. Gauntlet thrown, the challenge was on.

After being polite and the typical charming SOB that I am with Kaleigh our waitress, the resulting conversation occurred at the end of the meal:

Kaleigh: wow, you have a lot left. I told you that you couldn't eat the whole Tour of Italy!
Me: Well, I purposely got it so that I could have half tomorrow for lunch at work.
K: Good idea, you're smart.
M: thank you.
K: you're very polite. not many people are here. So you want me to wrap that up for you?
M: yes please. It'll go nicely with these breadsticks left, too (pointing to the remaining 3 in the basket).
K: Definitely. You should slice them open like little sub rolls and make sandwiches out of them with that chicken parm.
M: Well, I would, but I don't think that I have enough breadsticks to do that. I'd probably need a few more...
K: How many more do you think you'd need?
M: I suppose another 6 or so would hit the spot.
K: I think I could do that for you.
M: It'd also be cool if I had one of those little aluminum foil bags that make them heat up nicely in the oven.
K: sure thing.

She returned later with the bill and a bag stuffed with 7 breadsticks. Bethany and I walked out of there with 10 breadsticks total. I call that a win.

The day has come...

2006-06-28T07:25:00.000-07:00

Currently listening to: Panic! at the Disco - A fever you can't sweat out

1. Drove to work in my Audi S4 - Check
2. Wearing a Lacoste Polo shirt - Check
3. Going golfing today while on the clock - Check

It's official: I'm now a corporate yuppie.
All I need now is a coffee from Starbucks and I can begin working my way up the corporate ladder.

FIRST Book

2006-06-27T07:07:00.000-07:00

Currently listening to: Coheed & Cambria - Neverender

There's a reporter from CNN that's working on a book about FIRST that will be coming out soon. She's chronicling how FIRST works in regards to the students, mentors, their relationships, and the impact that the program has on individuals. She's talking with several teams and has lately been talking to several of us Gael Force people, namely Meredith and I.

We spoke with her down in Atlanta on several occasions, and then she flew up from Atlanta yesterday and had a 4 hour interview with us. It was pretty cool sitting down with the reporter, Meredith, Jorge, and Gordon to discuss robotics and how it's impacted us individually. It was neat to hear everyone's take on this program that consumes our entire lives, causes tons of stress at times, yet we keep coming back.

I'll keep you posted with the progress of this book as I learn it. I'm looking forward to reading it.

Hot Fuss

2006-06-20T10:44:00.000-07:00

Currently listening to: The Killers - On Top

I figured that after all this time, I would get tired of Hot Fuss by The Killers.

That's quite wrong. I still listening to it in heavy rotation with my other favs and it still gets my toe tapping.

Oh Clinton...

2006-06-19T13:04:00.000-07:00

Currently listening to: Brand New - The Shower Scene

The meeting location for the Clinton Alcoholics Anonymous is right next to a bar, and across the street there is another bar and a liquor store.

Surprised? I'm not.

24 Hours of Le Mans

2006-06-17T06:21:00.000-07:00

Currently watching: The X-Files - Max

The 24 hours of Le Mans in France begins today. Audi is busting out the new R10 with the V12 Diesel TDI engine. Goodluck guys!

Apparently, I'm the man

2006-06-15T08:45:00.000-07:00

Currently listening to: Coheed & Cambria - The Suffering

This morning was a funny morning for emails. Here's an abridged version of an email thread that was going around between my friends and I:

Kate: I go both ways :)
Me: That's hott
Bisol: I don't know if she'd go any way with you Timmy...
Kate: For the number of times Timmy saved my ass in ME design classes I would totally make out with him
Bisol: Well, I retract my statement then, I apologize Mr. Baird, hit that!
Dave: You're in buddy, now just get that other girl of yours and you can live the dream

Hahaha. This really cheered me up from my "I fell asleep at 10pm without doing my homework last night and have to do it all during lunch break" depression.

The Waitress and her Phone Number

2006-06-13T09:25:00.000-07:00

Currently listening to: Dakota - Perhaps on the Highway

On Saturday I went up to ref Mayhem in Merrimack, a summer off-season FIRST competition in Merrimack, NH. BJ and Erika came with me to volunteer for field reset.

After the competition, a group of us jumped in our cars and headed to AppleBee's for some eats. At my table it's me, Greg, BJ, Ryan, and Erika. When the waitress comes up and asks us for our orders, I initiate some small talk just because I'm friendly. BJ accuses me of sucking up. Sucking up for what, I don't know, but either way, Greg and I called BS on him and explained the concept of "talking nicely to attractive girls", because, someday, he'd hopefully stop being a goober and want to talk to them himself. Upon this, Greg issued a challenge to young BJ (16 years old, btw): get her number by the end of the meal.

Initially he wasn't going to do it, but Erika dropped the Triple Dog Dare, so, he had to. Greg and I begin figuring out how he should approach this. The obvious, most easy way was to simply write his on the back of his check and then inform her that it's there, and hope that she'll call or exchange #'s there on the spot. Greg decides that it would be more cocky (and hilarious) if he instead inquired as to why here # wasn't already there, assuming that she should want to volunteer her # to this kid on principle alone.

30 minutes go by. We finally get our checks after we're done eating. Greg first, me second, and so on until BJ got his last. Greg is nearly crying and I'm holding my hand over my mouth trying to prevent the laughter. Finally she comes to BJ.

Now, BJ did this like a champ. He took the check, paused briefly, looked up at her all calm and collect, and goes "What, no number?"
There was this awkward pause in the air at the table, she began to turn pink, and blurts out "WHAT, MY NUMBER!? HAHAHA!"
She then walks away while we all begin laughing hysterically. It was pretty amazing to see this all go down.

PCL

2006-06-09T08:06:00.000-07:00

Currently listening to: The Killers - Andy, You're a Star

So you've probably heard me bitching about my knee lately. Well, atleast if you were my father or old roommates helping me move from my FIFTH STORY APARTMENT building on Sunday. Every step was a wince, whimper, moan, or complaint in general. There were 107 steps up to my old apartment. 107 up, 107 down, repeat. It sucked.

Apparently, when I slipped on ice while hiking Mt. Madison memorial day weekend, I hit my knee pretty hard. It didn't even hurt the first few days and I thought nothing of it. However, it's been hurting like hell for the past week+.

I went to the doctor's office this morning and he checked it out. Apparently I tore my PCL (Posterior Cruciate Ligament). It's the one right behind the ACL and is usually hurt when you hit your knee while bent (which I did). If you want to read about the awesomeness that I'm experiencing, read this page, it's pretty informative.

Speech - After Thoughts

2006-06-06T11:59:00.000-07:00

Currently listening to: My Chemical Romance - I'm not okay (I promise)

I posted about the speech that I was to give at the Nypro Annual Awards banquet last Thursday. I was pretty nervous and a little anxious about the whole thing, but all in all, it went rather well.

The banquet lasted from 6-9:30. Drinks/Socializing was from 6-7, dinner from 7-8, and the actual awards began at about 8:45pm. That means that we gave a combined speaking/demonstration for 45 minutes at this event. That's broken down between 3 speakers, Rob doing some MC'ing, and two short videos, along with a quick demo. Everyone seemed very impressed with what we've done.

The speeches were the best part, in my personal opinion. They were broken down into 3 5-year segments of the students, Audrey Lernard representing the first 5-years, me representing the middle, and Kate Murray representing the last 5-years. The crowd seemed moved at how much the program has touched and affected our lives. Audrey and Kate gave great speeches.

My speech amazed me. I'm used to speaking in front of groups of 30 tops for classes during presentations. My usual audience consists of 1-3 professors and a bunch of students. This time, I stared into the faces of 350+ execs and other employees of Nypro. Lots of big wigs who could make or break a promotion. Many people whom I haven't met before. This was me debutante in the company.
Usually I get so nervous that I read straight off of the cards and it sounds too mechanical. I decided to try something different this time. While I had the speech word-for-word in front of me, I quickly realized that it was too long to just read straight if I wanted to pace it properly and not freak out from nervousness (my heart was beating at Ludicrous Speed). I started ad-libbing like crazy, putting in breaks where I needed to, adding little jests here and there and allowing the audience to laugh/clap. It was great. Sorry to sound cocky, but I never speak nicely in front of people, especially a crowd like that. I've gained a new found confidence in my speaking abilities.

It was all topped off when as I was walking out the door and many coworkers were coming up to me and giving me generic congratulatory remarks. While they felt good to hear, they were dry and without feeling, so, they didn't hit me that hard. However, as I'm walking out the door, one of my coworkers walks up to me, shakes my hand, and goes "that was fucking awesome!" To hear this at a company event with everyone in suits/ties, amazed the crap out of me. While it may have been border-line inappropriate, it made me feel pretty good.

You can view the original speech here. Like I said, it's not exactly what I said word for word, but it's the same topics/feelings.

Hilarious

2006-06-06T08:01:00.000-07:00

Currently listening to: Coheed & Cambria - Wake Up

Have you ever seen "Garden State"? If so, then you'll probably realize why I thought this was hilarious.

On Saturday I had a pretty busy day. I judged the Mass State Science Fair in the morning at WPI and then hauled out to Clinton once I was done judging my kids. I run up to the town hall and watch the CHS graduation. Took some pictures, shook some hands, gave my presents, and then got back to my dad's house. From there, Stacy, Ian (her bf) and I get in the S4 and begin our journey to our cousin Ali's graduation party in Wilbraham, MA.

So far, this story seems rather bland. Bland be not! I needed gas and it was raining and didn't feel like getting out, so we went to the Getty at the top of the hill. The guy pumps my gas, I hand him my credit card, sign the receipt, and assume that I'm done. Done was far from the truth.

Now, when they pump for you, you assume that the order of operations are:
1. Pull up
2. Request of amount and what octane level
3. Fill up
4. Remove nozzle
5. Pay
6. Drive away

Well, the dude got his order a little mixed up. After I pay and put my card away, I assume that I'm cool to drive off. I pull away and hear a combination of a stretching sound, a rip, a cluck, and some dragging. We all kind of look at eachother in shock and awe trying to realize what just happened. I look in my sideview to find the nozzle still inserted in my car. The dude never took it out afterwards. I had pulled the sucker right out of the gas station and dragged it like 10 feet. Thankfully, it has a quick release for instances such as this and with a little effort, the two of us got it snapped back in, but it was still funny. We laughed our asses off back in the car and I got out of there pretty quickly.

Ah... Sometimes I amuse the hell out of myself.

Ouch

2006-06-04T21:03:00.000-07:00

Currently watching: The X-files - Syzygy

Dear Tim,
Congratulations on fucking me up while hiking last weekend when you fell on that ice, and then proceeding to have me hurt beyond belief today while you moved up and down your old apartment's FIVE stories to your new apartment.

Painfully yours,
Your knee

Life is Good

2006-06-02T13:06:00.000-07:00

Currently listening to: Coheed & Cambria - The Velourium Camper I: Faint of Hearts

I have a full, ice-cold nalgene bottle of water, an apple turnover from Meadow Brook Orchards, I'm listening to Coheed, and the weekend is only an hour away.

Life is Good.